Recording apparatus



June 1, 1954- F, T, JHN I -2,680,054

RECORDING APPARATUS vFiled April 3, 1952 Patented June 1, 1954 RECORDINGAPPARATUS Frank T. John, State College, Pa., assignor to ThePennsylvania Research Corporation, State College, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application April 3, 1952, Serial No. 280,405

3 Claims. 1

rlhis invention relates to recording apparatus and, more particularly,to a writing mechanism for marking ink lines or traces on a recordreceiving member in response to electrical or mechanical impulsescontrolled by the occurrence ci the event to be recorded.

l't is among the objects of this invention to provide apparatus of theforegoing type for recording one or more ink lines or traces on a recordreceiving member, in which the writing elements have a very low inertia,so as to be quickly responsive to a minimum amount of applied power, andare made of inexpensive material that is easily replaced when Worn.

A further object is to provide such a recording mechanism that can beused in a multiple channel polygraph for selectively recording datareceived from a plurality of datum originating sources.

The recording apparatus oi this invention includes one or more capillaryWriting stringsy each of which is normally held out of contact with amoving record receiving member but may be brought into contact with thatmember by an electromagnetic or mechanical actuating means that isresponsive to the occurrence of an event to be recorded. The writingportion oi each capillary string is supplied with ink from an ink supplyby capillary flow along the string, so that when the string is broughtinto contact with the record receiving member, it will produce acontinuous ink line or trace thereon.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig.1 is a somewhat di agraminatic elevation of apparatus embodying theinvention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion oi the apparatus inFig. 1.

Referring to Fig. l of the drawings, the record receiving member isrepresented by a strip of paper of any desired width, which extends froma paper-supply roll 2 to a take-up roll 3. Between those two rolls, thepaper passes around a platen roll i and over two idler rolls 6 and l.During the operation of the device, the paper is moved at a uniform rateover those rolls by conventional means, which are not illustrated andneed not be described since they are not part of this invention.

The Writing element is a capillary string 8, usually one of a pluralityof such strings, made ci any suitable capillary material, such asiwoventextile fibers. It is mounted below the platen roll i and at rightangles to that roll, but normally out ci contact with the paper passingaround it. One end of this string is fastened to a tension coil spring9, mounted on a bracket i and the other end is secured to an armature i2of a solenoid I3. At an intermediate point, the string is fastened tothe end of a rotatable lever I carried by a pulley it on a shaft il.Preferably, the lever I4 is normally so positioned that a substantiallength of the string, including the writing portion thereof, is inContact with a supply of ink, for example, a sponge rubber pad i3supported in an ink-containing reservoir I 9, which may also be mountedon bracket il. When the string is in its normal, lowered position, theweight of the armature i2 is suicient to keep it under slight tensionand in ink-absorbing Contact with the sponge rubber pad I8, so that thewriting portion of the string is kept thoroughly inked when not in use.

Solenoid I3 is energized by an electrical circuit 2 I that is responsiveto the happening of the event t0 be recorded. For simplicity, thatevent'may be represented by the manual closing of a switch 22 in thatcircuit. When the switch is closed, the solenoid is energized in amanner to cause a downward electromagnetic force on the armature. As thelatter moves downward in response to such force, it pulls the stringwith it against the urging of the spring 9. This longitudinal movementof the string rotates lever I4 about the shaft Il, thereby raising thewriting portion of the string from the ink pad I8 into contact with thepaper where the latter passes around the platen roll 4. The position ofthe string in its writing position is shown by the broken line in Fig.'1. On making contact with the paper, the string will immediately markan ink trace thereH on, since the writing portion of the string haspreviously been in contact with the ink pad and is already saturatedwith ink. As the paper is continuously moved around the platen roll, thetrace left by the string becomes a straight line, the length of whichmeasures the duration of the event to be recorded, in this case, thetime during which switch 22 remains closed.

In order to assure a continued flow of ink when the string is inprolonged contact with the paper, platen roll 4 is so spaced from theink pad i8 and that pad is of such a width that a por tion oi the stringwill remain in Contact with the pad after the string is raised into itswriting position. Since the ink in the reservoir i9 keeps the ink padsaturated, the latter, in turn supplies a constant flow of ink to thecapillary string.

When the circuit 2| is opened by the opening of the switch 22, thesolenoid I3 is deenergized and the only downward force applied to thearmature I2 is that of gravity, which is not sufcient to maintain thelever I4 in its raised writing position against the urging of spring 9.Accordingly, the lever and string return to their normal positions withthe string across the top of the ink pad i8, awaiting the next writingoperation.

Ordinarily, more than one writing string will be used, in order to markon the record receiving member data supplied by a plurality of datumoriginating sources. It will be obvious that many strings can besupported in spaced parallel relation to each other, as shown in `Fig.2, string being connected to a separate lever ifi and being actuated byits own solenoid which is in turn controlled by its own electricalcircuit that is responsive to a particular datum source. A single inkpad i8 and a single ink reservoir i 9 may be used to supply ink to allof the strings. Likewise, the shaft l1 may be common to all of thelevers i4 and pulleys i6. Apparatus or type, employing a plurality ofcapillary stri gs, can be used as the writing or recording mecha nism ofa multiple channel polygraph, in wi" data from a large number of datumorigina sources can be selectively and simultaneoush made on a singlerecord receiving member.

It is among the advantages of this invention that the capillary writingstrings have a ve y low inertia, so that they are quickly moved intowriting position with a minimum amount of apn plied power. A furtheradvantage is that writing portion of each capillary string is asaturated with ink and ready for immediate thereby avoiding the cleaningand priming op erations so often required when using conventional glasspens as the writing elements. Again, if any string becomes worn aftercontinued use, it may be easily and cheaply replaced.

In order to prevent the flow or ink from the capillary string beyond thewriting portie-n ci that string, where no ink is required, it may bedesirable to apply to the string a coating of shellac, or othersubstance, that will interrupt the capillary flow of the ink. Forexample, a portion of the string adjacent the end ci the lever i@ beimpregnated with shellac. It will be understood, of course, that it willbe equally feasible to have the capillary string end at the point ofattachment to lever lil and to be connected at that point to anon-capillary string or flexible wire, which is in turn attached to thearmature i 2 of the solenoid. Accordingly, the term "capillary string,as used in the attached claims, is intended to include a compound stringor type in which the writing portion of the string alone has capillaryproperties.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained theprinciple of my invention and have illustrated and described what I nowconsider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have itunderstood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as speciiically illustrated anddescribed.

I claim:

l. A recording apparatus for recording data from a datum originatingsource onto a record receiving member, comprising a capillary stringnormally supported in spaced relation to the record receiving member, atension spring connected to one end of the string for yieldablysupporting that end, a rotatable lever engaging an intermediate portionof the string and adapted when rotated to cause a portion of the stringto contact the record receiving member, electromagnetic means connectedto the other end ci the string for rotating the lever by exertingtension on the string, an ink supply normally contacting the string, andan impulse receiving circuit responsive to the datum originating sourcefor energizing said electromagnetic means, thereby causing the lever torotate and bring a portion of the string into Writing contact with therecord receiving member.

2. A recording apparatus for selectively recording data from a pluralityof datum origi hating sources onto a record receiving member supportedby a platen roll, comprising a plurality of capillary strings supportedin spaced parallel relation to each other and at right angles to theplaten roll and normally spaced from the record receiving member,tension spring means connected to one end or each string for yieidablysupporting that end, a separate rotatable lever connected to each stringand adapted when rotated to move a portion of the string into contactwith the record receiving member, separate electromagnetic meansconnected to each lever for rotating the lever when energized, supply ofinl; contacting each string, a plurality of separate impulse receivingcircuits, each circuit including o Ae of said electromagnetic means andeach being responsive to a particular datum originating source, wherebyan electrical impulse in one of said circuits will energize the includedelectromagnetic means to cause one of said strings to contact the recordreceiving member and marl; an ink trace thereon.

3. A recording apparatus for selectively recording data from a pluralityoi datum originating sources onto a record receiving member suppcrted bya platen roll, comprising a plurality ci? capillary strings supported inspaced parallel relation to each other and at right angles to 'theplateil roll and normally spaced from the record receiving member,tension spring means connected to one end of each string for yieldaclysuppcrting that end, a separate rotatable lever connected to anintermediate point on each string and adapted when rotated to move aportion of the s"ing into contact with the record receiving member,separate electromagnetic means connected to the other end of each stringfor rotating the lever connected to the string by exerting tension onthe string, a supply of ink normally contacting the Writing portion ofeach string and remaining in contact with another portion when thestring is in its writing position, a plurality of separate impulsereceiving circuits, each inn cluding one of said electromagnetic meansand each being responsive to a particular datum originating source,whereby an electrical impulse in one of said circuits will energize theincluded electromagnetic means to cause one of said strings to contactthe record receiving member and mark an ink trace thereon.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 827,086 Darwin July 3l, 1906 1,296,305 Mehren Mar. Il, 19192,601,246 Brady et al June 2e, 1952 2,601,247 Brady June 24, 1952

